RE: [IC][Story][Arc 1] They go to the land of the ice and snow
08-19-2018, 02:43 PM (This post was last modified: 08-25-2018, 03:00 PM by robkelk. Edit Reason: we have always been at war with Eastasia )
08-19-2018, 02:43 PM (This post was last modified: 08-25-2018, 03:00 PM by robkelk. Edit Reason: we have always been at war with Eastasia )
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
November 21, 2016
10:13 am
"You should be asking the RCMP. They're the ones who are responsible for this."
Rob sighed. "I don't want to lie to a police officer, and how would they react if I said 'I have four fictional characters living with me who need firearms licenses'?"
"I can see where that would be a problem. Okay: first, I absolutely cannot let you practice at the range at the police station. Second ... you said four. Some of the Misaka clones?"
"I can see why you made detective so young. Yes."
"The minor's license is good for non-restricted rifles and shotguns only. And you'll need a possession and acquisition license, too, since they're living with you."
"I expected as much. What's required for these?"
"Each of you has to take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course - the RA Centre has a shooting range and can find you instructors. Once you pass that, you can apply for your PAL and the girls' licenses."
"And what will that let me buy?"
"I assume you want to buy weapons for your own use, not for theirs. No, don't interrupt me. That will let you purchase non-restricted firearms only. If you want something else, you'll need to take the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course as well. And don't bother asking for a license for those automatic rifles I saw them use in the anime, because those are on the prohibited list. Oh, and do me a favour, will you? Let the shooting club keep your weapons under lock and key. I don't want the girls walking around with weapons in their gym bags."
"That shouldn't be a problem; neither do I. Thanks for the help."
11:48 am
"It's somewhat unusual for the RA Centre to include foster children in a family membership, Mr. Donaldson."
"I'm not surprised, but they're the only family I have. Would you allow children to become members on their own?"
The desk clerk thought for a moment. "I think I can see my way clear to setting you up as a family, then. What are the children's names?"
"Niiko Misaka, Kokono Misaka, Nana Misaka, and Rei Misaka." Rob spelled the names for the clerk.
"Ages?"
This wasn't the time or the place to tell the truth. "13."
"What, all of them?"
"And they're identical quadruplets, too. Identical down to their interests, which is one reason why I'm fostering them all. They want to join the Gun Club."
The clerk was shocked. "All of them? At age 13? My God, what happened to them?"
Rob looked stern. "Even if I had been told that, I wouldn't be at liberty to repeat it. But I'll point out that they've been given a male guardian."
"Oh. Yes. Of course. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that." The clerk cleared her throat. "Are you interested in the Gun Club as well?"
"Not really, but I'll have to get a license if the girls are going to be allowed to get their licenses, so sign me up, too. Sign me up for the Photography Club as well, please."
The clerk grinned. "You're interested in a different kind of shooting."
7:14 pm
There weren't any instructors at the gun club that evening to give them their introductory exam, so the Misaka sisters decided to give the building's bath a try instead. Once they stepped through the portal into the dimensional pocket, they noticed two doors, labelled "Ladies" and "Rob" - the latter obviously having recently had "and Mamoru" added. None of them expressed any interest in seeing what the men's side of the baths looked like.
It was almost normal for an onsen, the most obvious difference being that all the signs were in English. Nothing was floating, there was only one level to the bath, and there was a mural of Mount Fuji painted on the rear wall of the room.
The sisters stripped, washed, and entered the bath in complete silence. Not that they weren't communicating; they were taking the opportunity to use their mental connection when nobody would be freaked out by it.
After a while, they heard the door open. "Is anybody in here?"
So much for not freaking out anyone else. But they remembered from the memories Last Order - Mimi - had shared that Hyoga wasn't just anyone else. Looked at from a certain point of view, she was almost one of them.
"The four of us are currently soaking, Misaka Niiko answers."
"You are welcome to join us, Misaka Rei adds."
After a few moments, Hyoga walked in, wearing only a towel - which she slipped out of as she slipped into the water. "Oh, this feels good! I've never been in a communal bath before."
The others looked at her for a moment. After consulting with each other mentally, they decided who would ask the question on their shared minds. "If I am prying, please ignore this question, but why are your breasts different from ours, Misaka Niiko asks?"
Hyoga blushed. "Well, some girls just have larger ..."
"That is not what we meant, Misaka Rei interrupts in order to save time." She pointed to her own chest. "We have aureolae and nipples." She consciously left 'Rei adds in explanation' unsaid as obvious.
Hyoga took a closer look. "Is that normal? I've never seen a person naked before, either. Even when Index and I were having our photos taken while cosplaying, we still wore underwear when we were changing."
"It's completely normal, Misaka Kokono answers."
Hyoga said nothing for a moment. "Then... why don't I have them?"
"We don't know, Misaka Nana answers."
"Perhaps Rob knows, or could find out, Misaka Rei suggests."
"I don't think I want to show him my naked chest."
"We can describe the differences between us without showing him anything, Misaka Niiko suggests. Are there any other anatomical differences between us, Niiko asks while standing in the bath."
Hyoga looked at her, nodded, and stood up herself.
8:27 pm
"... and the first thing that came to mind was a Barbie doll, Misaka Niiko finishes."
Rob thought for a moment, then turned to Hyoga. "I'm not surprised. Aleister and his people designed you to be an artificial angel, after all, and angels are traditionally described as being sexless."
"I'm obviously female, though."
"True. Aleister Crowley imagined angels as something quite different from the usual description - although you don't match that description, either."
"What did Aleister come up with?"
Rob looked Hyoga straight in the eye. "You really don't want to know."
She shivered in fear, then recovered. "I wonder whether that's why I fought so hard against being activated."
"Could be. I think we need some expert help here. I'll call Washuu-chan... no, I'll text Skuld-sama and ask her to ask Belldandy-sama."
8:44 pm
"Belldandy's reply was, and I quote, 'I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell you'."
"That sucks, Mikoto Kokono mutters in annoyance."
"I'll say. Why couldn't I have a body like everybody else's?"
"Do you want me to ask Washuu-chan whether she can do anything?" Rob's phone pinged. Looking at the display, he said, "Or maybe Belldandy can help, if you want."
Hyoga thought for a long moment. "I don't know."
November 22, 2016
7:41 am
"Do we get to go to school any time soon, Misaka Mimi asks with curiosity between spoonfuls of cereal. Everybody else gets to go."
"I'm stuck here, too," Chibi-Usa replied while reaching for the milk.
"Be glad you don't have to waste time in boring classes, kid."
Rob looked up from his bacon-and-eggs. "The school board won't take you until the beginning of the next term, which starts after Christmas, although we'll get your placement tests in before that. Be patient for a month. And do you want to attend classes, Accelerator? I can ask for them to give you a placement test at the same time the Misaka Sisters and Chibi-Usa take theirs."
"May as well. What about the meganekko with the big -?"
"I have a name," Hyoga interrupted. "Please use it."
"Fine. What about Kazakiri?"
"I'm taking a high-school-equivalency diploma exam later today."
"Maybe I should do that."
Rob nodded. "I thought you might want to, so I made arrangements for a possibility of two people taking the test, just in case. I'll let them know you are able to attend after all. Here's your student ID card."
Accelerator read it. "'Axel A. Rayder?' This is bullshit."
"Then tell us your real name."
"I guess this works."
There was a moment of relative quiet as everyone ate, which Mamoru broke by asking "Do you need any help around the building today, Rob?"
"Ordinarily, I'd say yes, but you have something more important to do today."
"I do?"
"Take a look out the back door. Somebody at one of the other buildings was granted a wish yesterday, and it was worded broadly enough for the megami to do you and Mii-san a favour while they were granting it. You need to go visit the license bureau, and I need to go buy some winter covers for your vehicles - maybe a prefab carport." As Mamoru bolted for the door, Rob turned to the others. "You should check your own rooms while you're at it. You just might have some personal belongings in your dresser drawers that weren't there yesterday."
Just then, a very loud squeal of delight came from Mikoto's apartment, followed by "My collection of Gekota toys!!!"
Rob smiled and continued. "Maybe you should go look now."
"It can wait, Misaka Rei announces, deciding to be polite and finish breakfast first."
8:33 am
"I'm sorry to disturb you so early in the day, Washuu-chan."
"What do you need?"
"What makes you think -?"
"You're only this apologetic when you want something, Rob."
"We need a gun vault that the local police won't be able to find. It seems that Belldandy granted a wide-area wish last night, and as a side-effect the Misaka sisters have their fully-automatic rifles again."
"That explains the gun vault, but not the undetectable part."
"Private ownership of fully-automatic weapons is illegal in Canada."
"Ill be there in three minutes."
3:21 pm
"Congratulations, Hyoga! Congratulations, 'Axel'!"
"They marked our exams very quickly."
"Why wouldn't they? They had a very advanced computer marking the tests."
Chibi-Usa looked up at Rob. "You didn't...?"
Rob shook his head. "All I asked HAL to do was make sure the tests were graded accurately. It's the province's standards that are lax." He turned to Hyoga and Accelerator. "Now that you have your high school diplomas, there's no way I can apply for fosterage money for either of you. I can carry you for a couple of months, but you'll need something to bring in an income soon, whether it's a university scholarship or a job. Time to think about what you want to do with your lives."
7:16 pm
The five of them walked into the RA Centre's Gun Club, drawing attention immediately - and not just because the Misaka sisters had all chosen to wear their school uniforms. "Hello, we're the Donaldson/Misaka family."
An instructor walked over. "Ah, you're the new members! Welcome to the club. Please, call me John."
"Pleased to meet you, John," Rob said as they shook hands. "I'm going to be honest with you: the only reason I'm here is because I'm the girls' legal guardian."
"We can work with that. How much do you know about guns?"
"I know enough to always treat them as if they're loaded, and to not point them at anything I don't intend to shoot, and that's about it. The girls know much more."
"Those are two good baselines to start with. Let's get you a rifle and see how well you can handle it." Ten minutes later, Rob had gone through a dozen rounds and managed to put one in the outer ring of the target. John said, "I've seen worse first tries."
"I really don't have the eyesight for shooting. Keep the glasses on and the sight path's distorted; take them off and I can't make out the rings."
"Sight path? Oh, yes, I think I know what you're saying. Who wants to go next?"
Three minutes later, Niiko had put five shots in a tight grouping in the centre ring.
Three minutes after that, Kokono had put five shots in a tight grouping in the centre ring.
Three minutes after that, Rei had put five shots in a tight grouping in the centre ring.
The range official called a stop to shooting, then walked over. "Are we sure that isn't the same girl trying out over and over again?"
"I think they're different girls," answered John. "But I'm not sure. Clear four lanes for them; I want to see them all shoot at the same time."
Four minutes later, the girls had given their targets "five rounds rapid", shooting out a identical × on each bulls-eye.
"What the hell..." John was flabbergasted.
Rob quietly walked over to Niiko, who was using the outermost lane. "Girls, if you don't stop freaking the mundanes right now, then I won't pay your range fees."
It took them less than two minutes to shoot different patterns of three shots into different parts of their targets.
"Much better." Rob turned to John. "They had the same teacher and took the same classes."
"Even so, they shouldn't be that much alike!"
"Are they in?"
"Yes! I want to learn how they did that!"
To be continued...
Next time:
After he hung up, Rob thought, 'Of course Sebastian has a list of housekeeper candidates. So much for getting Lord Phantomhive to slip Mamoru some money as a live-in handyman; he'll have to find work elsewhere. Or I can pay him out of my own pocket, if he'll let me.'
November 21, 2016
10:13 am
"You should be asking the RCMP. They're the ones who are responsible for this."
Rob sighed. "I don't want to lie to a police officer, and how would they react if I said 'I have four fictional characters living with me who need firearms licenses'?"
"I can see where that would be a problem. Okay: first, I absolutely cannot let you practice at the range at the police station. Second ... you said four. Some of the Misaka clones?"
"I can see why you made detective so young. Yes."
"The minor's license is good for non-restricted rifles and shotguns only. And you'll need a possession and acquisition license, too, since they're living with you."
"I expected as much. What's required for these?"
"Each of you has to take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course - the RA Centre has a shooting range and can find you instructors. Once you pass that, you can apply for your PAL and the girls' licenses."
"And what will that let me buy?"
"I assume you want to buy weapons for your own use, not for theirs. No, don't interrupt me. That will let you purchase non-restricted firearms only. If you want something else, you'll need to take the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course as well. And don't bother asking for a license for those automatic rifles I saw them use in the anime, because those are on the prohibited list. Oh, and do me a favour, will you? Let the shooting club keep your weapons under lock and key. I don't want the girls walking around with weapons in their gym bags."
"That shouldn't be a problem; neither do I. Thanks for the help."
11:48 am
"It's somewhat unusual for the RA Centre to include foster children in a family membership, Mr. Donaldson."
"I'm not surprised, but they're the only family I have. Would you allow children to become members on their own?"
The desk clerk thought for a moment. "I think I can see my way clear to setting you up as a family, then. What are the children's names?"
"Niiko Misaka, Kokono Misaka, Nana Misaka, and Rei Misaka." Rob spelled the names for the clerk.
"Ages?"
This wasn't the time or the place to tell the truth. "13."
"What, all of them?"
"And they're identical quadruplets, too. Identical down to their interests, which is one reason why I'm fostering them all. They want to join the Gun Club."
The clerk was shocked. "All of them? At age 13? My God, what happened to them?"
Rob looked stern. "Even if I had been told that, I wouldn't be at liberty to repeat it. But I'll point out that they've been given a male guardian."
"Oh. Yes. Of course. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that." The clerk cleared her throat. "Are you interested in the Gun Club as well?"
"Not really, but I'll have to get a license if the girls are going to be allowed to get their licenses, so sign me up, too. Sign me up for the Photography Club as well, please."
The clerk grinned. "You're interested in a different kind of shooting."
7:14 pm
There weren't any instructors at the gun club that evening to give them their introductory exam, so the Misaka sisters decided to give the building's bath a try instead. Once they stepped through the portal into the dimensional pocket, they noticed two doors, labelled "Ladies" and "Rob" - the latter obviously having recently had "and Mamoru" added. None of them expressed any interest in seeing what the men's side of the baths looked like.
It was almost normal for an onsen, the most obvious difference being that all the signs were in English. Nothing was floating, there was only one level to the bath, and there was a mural of Mount Fuji painted on the rear wall of the room.
The sisters stripped, washed, and entered the bath in complete silence. Not that they weren't communicating; they were taking the opportunity to use their mental connection when nobody would be freaked out by it.
After a while, they heard the door open. "Is anybody in here?"
So much for not freaking out anyone else. But they remembered from the memories Last Order - Mimi - had shared that Hyoga wasn't just anyone else. Looked at from a certain point of view, she was almost one of them.
"The four of us are currently soaking, Misaka Niiko answers."
"You are welcome to join us, Misaka Rei adds."
After a few moments, Hyoga walked in, wearing only a towel - which she slipped out of as she slipped into the water. "Oh, this feels good! I've never been in a communal bath before."
The others looked at her for a moment. After consulting with each other mentally, they decided who would ask the question on their shared minds. "If I am prying, please ignore this question, but why are your breasts different from ours, Misaka Niiko asks?"
Hyoga blushed. "Well, some girls just have larger ..."
"That is not what we meant, Misaka Rei interrupts in order to save time." She pointed to her own chest. "We have aureolae and nipples." She consciously left 'Rei adds in explanation' unsaid as obvious.
Hyoga took a closer look. "Is that normal? I've never seen a person naked before, either. Even when Index and I were having our photos taken while cosplaying, we still wore underwear when we were changing."
"It's completely normal, Misaka Kokono answers."
Hyoga said nothing for a moment. "Then... why don't I have them?"
"We don't know, Misaka Nana answers."
"Perhaps Rob knows, or could find out, Misaka Rei suggests."
"I don't think I want to show him my naked chest."
"We can describe the differences between us without showing him anything, Misaka Niiko suggests. Are there any other anatomical differences between us, Niiko asks while standing in the bath."
Hyoga looked at her, nodded, and stood up herself.
8:27 pm
"... and the first thing that came to mind was a Barbie doll, Misaka Niiko finishes."
Rob thought for a moment, then turned to Hyoga. "I'm not surprised. Aleister and his people designed you to be an artificial angel, after all, and angels are traditionally described as being sexless."
"I'm obviously female, though."
"True. Aleister Crowley imagined angels as something quite different from the usual description - although you don't match that description, either."
"What did Aleister come up with?"
Rob looked Hyoga straight in the eye. "You really don't want to know."
She shivered in fear, then recovered. "I wonder whether that's why I fought so hard against being activated."
"Could be. I think we need some expert help here. I'll call Washuu-chan... no, I'll text Skuld-sama and ask her to ask Belldandy-sama."
8:44 pm
"Belldandy's reply was, and I quote, 'I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell you'."
"That sucks, Mikoto Kokono mutters in annoyance."
"I'll say. Why couldn't I have a body like everybody else's?"
"Do you want me to ask Washuu-chan whether she can do anything?" Rob's phone pinged. Looking at the display, he said, "Or maybe Belldandy can help, if you want."
Hyoga thought for a long moment. "I don't know."
November 22, 2016
7:41 am
"Do we get to go to school any time soon, Misaka Mimi asks with curiosity between spoonfuls of cereal. Everybody else gets to go."
"I'm stuck here, too," Chibi-Usa replied while reaching for the milk.
"Be glad you don't have to waste time in boring classes, kid."
Rob looked up from his bacon-and-eggs. "The school board won't take you until the beginning of the next term, which starts after Christmas, although we'll get your placement tests in before that. Be patient for a month. And do you want to attend classes, Accelerator? I can ask for them to give you a placement test at the same time the Misaka Sisters and Chibi-Usa take theirs."
"May as well. What about the meganekko with the big -?"
"I have a name," Hyoga interrupted. "Please use it."
"Fine. What about Kazakiri?"
"I'm taking a high-school-equivalency diploma exam later today."
"Maybe I should do that."
Rob nodded. "I thought you might want to, so I made arrangements for a possibility of two people taking the test, just in case. I'll let them know you are able to attend after all. Here's your student ID card."
Accelerator read it. "'Axel A. Rayder?' This is bullshit."
"Then tell us your real name."
"I guess this works."
There was a moment of relative quiet as everyone ate, which Mamoru broke by asking "Do you need any help around the building today, Rob?"
"Ordinarily, I'd say yes, but you have something more important to do today."
"I do?"
"Take a look out the back door. Somebody at one of the other buildings was granted a wish yesterday, and it was worded broadly enough for the megami to do you and Mii-san a favour while they were granting it. You need to go visit the license bureau, and I need to go buy some winter covers for your vehicles - maybe a prefab carport." As Mamoru bolted for the door, Rob turned to the others. "You should check your own rooms while you're at it. You just might have some personal belongings in your dresser drawers that weren't there yesterday."
Just then, a very loud squeal of delight came from Mikoto's apartment, followed by "My collection of Gekota toys!!!"
Rob smiled and continued. "Maybe you should go look now."
"It can wait, Misaka Rei announces, deciding to be polite and finish breakfast first."
8:33 am
"I'm sorry to disturb you so early in the day, Washuu-chan."
"What do you need?"
"What makes you think -?"
"You're only this apologetic when you want something, Rob."
"We need a gun vault that the local police won't be able to find. It seems that Belldandy granted a wide-area wish last night, and as a side-effect the Misaka sisters have their fully-automatic rifles again."
"That explains the gun vault, but not the undetectable part."
"Private ownership of fully-automatic weapons is illegal in Canada."
"Ill be there in three minutes."
3:21 pm
"Congratulations, Hyoga! Congratulations, 'Axel'!"
"They marked our exams very quickly."
"Why wouldn't they? They had a very advanced computer marking the tests."
Chibi-Usa looked up at Rob. "You didn't...?"
Rob shook his head. "All I asked HAL to do was make sure the tests were graded accurately. It's the province's standards that are lax." He turned to Hyoga and Accelerator. "Now that you have your high school diplomas, there's no way I can apply for fosterage money for either of you. I can carry you for a couple of months, but you'll need something to bring in an income soon, whether it's a university scholarship or a job. Time to think about what you want to do with your lives."
7:16 pm
The five of them walked into the RA Centre's Gun Club, drawing attention immediately - and not just because the Misaka sisters had all chosen to wear their school uniforms. "Hello, we're the Donaldson/Misaka family."
An instructor walked over. "Ah, you're the new members! Welcome to the club. Please, call me John."
"Pleased to meet you, John," Rob said as they shook hands. "I'm going to be honest with you: the only reason I'm here is because I'm the girls' legal guardian."
"We can work with that. How much do you know about guns?"
"I know enough to always treat them as if they're loaded, and to not point them at anything I don't intend to shoot, and that's about it. The girls know much more."
"Those are two good baselines to start with. Let's get you a rifle and see how well you can handle it." Ten minutes later, Rob had gone through a dozen rounds and managed to put one in the outer ring of the target. John said, "I've seen worse first tries."
"I really don't have the eyesight for shooting. Keep the glasses on and the sight path's distorted; take them off and I can't make out the rings."
"Sight path? Oh, yes, I think I know what you're saying. Who wants to go next?"
Three minutes later, Niiko had put five shots in a tight grouping in the centre ring.
Three minutes after that, Kokono had put five shots in a tight grouping in the centre ring.
Three minutes after that, Rei had put five shots in a tight grouping in the centre ring.
The range official called a stop to shooting, then walked over. "Are we sure that isn't the same girl trying out over and over again?"
"I think they're different girls," answered John. "But I'm not sure. Clear four lanes for them; I want to see them all shoot at the same time."
Four minutes later, the girls had given their targets "five rounds rapid", shooting out a identical × on each bulls-eye.
"What the hell..." John was flabbergasted.
Rob quietly walked over to Niiko, who was using the outermost lane. "Girls, if you don't stop freaking the mundanes right now, then I won't pay your range fees."
It took them less than two minutes to shoot different patterns of three shots into different parts of their targets.
"Much better." Rob turned to John. "They had the same teacher and took the same classes."
"Even so, they shouldn't be that much alike!"
"Are they in?"
"Yes! I want to learn how they did that!"
To be continued...
Next time:
After he hung up, Rob thought, 'Of course Sebastian has a list of housekeeper candidates. So much for getting Lord Phantomhive to slip Mamoru some money as a live-in handyman; he'll have to find work elsewhere. Or I can pay him out of my own pocket, if he'll let me.'
--
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown